


godless

by dahkani



Category: RWBY
Genre: Intense pining, M/M, chapter 1 is mostly setup for the reunion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:40:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22128055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dahkani/pseuds/dahkani
Summary: Neptune can't escape the thought of him. The glare of midsummer’s light brings the memories rushing back; when the sun rains down gold, Midas’ fingers tracing shapes on the ground, spreading like wildfire. It’s hard not to. A song running around in his head, ghosts of Sun lingering, hearing his voice in the wind – yet every time he turns to look, nothing.
Relationships: Neptune Vasilias/Sun Wukong
Comments: 6
Kudos: 31





	1. when you wish upon a star

**Author's Note:**

> i swallow my fable, that i wasn't enough.  
> but with my eyes closed i'm still dancin' in your love.  
> right now i'm dreaming, i'll be alone with you again  
> and i can still hold you like i held you in the end.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP2i_0rUpUg

It was another night alone. Neptune had fared through so many, he felt he knew the stars by name. He lay atop his bed, gazing out of the window, he traced them with an idle finger, shivering in the cool air of the night. They danced and twinkled just out of his reach, and when he opened his mouth to breathe, he could feel a hundred things he wished to say threatening to spill from him like a fountain.

It was foolish to try to tame that which was meant to be free. It was a pill Neptune had swallowed as soon as he had met Sun. He was a blazing and blinding light hiding in plain sight, and Neptune knew better than to try to dampen that light just to hold it in his hands. It would be selfish to try to trap him.

Fitting for his name, Neptune never felt he had much of a place on Remnant. It was a terrifyingly massive place, filled with strangers with lives so vividly complex he’d never really know any of them. Could you really know anyone? Sun danced around lies and half-truths so well it was clear he’d done it all his life. Neptune saw through it all.

When the lights dimmed, and they stood alone in the remains, of either party or battle, they knew each other. Sun’s bristling confidence died down to embers, and Neptune didn’t have to try so hard. It all came so easily, like a dance learned by heart, as natural as breathing to either of them. They saw through each other, and found something else; something just as fake and yet just as real as the masks they wore for others.

Neptune didn’t forget a single moment he spent with Sun. He remembered how his shaking hands had traced his veins like they were cracks, a human vulnerability in a man that seemed so flawless, carved by the Gods themselves, a gift from them. It was in the breaks of his voice and hitches in his breaths that Neptune realized Sun’s weakness. It was most obvious in the way he cupped his face, held his hips, mouthed his name. It was clear as the sky on a warm summer’s day when his face lit up, how the hairs on his body gave Neptune a standing ovation when Sun laid eyes on him. Sun would say it time and time again, as many times as it would take, never frustrated and forever patient: that of all the beautiful people and incredible spirits he’d encountered as he travelled, Neptune was the greatest of them all. He simply followed where his heart wanted to go, and it just so happened that it always found its way back to Neptune. 

Never once did their loves waver as they walked across their tightrope. They had a thousand and one excuses for each others’ behaviour, and even more apologies. Sun’s thirst for adventure and need to help others didn’t bother Neptune. He adored the countless stories Sun would share, or how they’d talk until daybreak every time Sun made the mistake of calling him. He’d promised time and time again that he’d follow Sun anywhere he went should he say the word; and wait for him forever if he didn’t. Because Neptune knew that home was in his arms, held safe, peace at last.

Neptune knew he wasn’t easy, either. They both had their own issues. Neptune found himself doubting every small gesture and every word anyone said, but he kept every fear locked tight in his head. They ate him alive. He’d spent countless nights just like this one gazing up at the sky, wishing on every star he saw for anything at all. Every star is a shooting star when your eyes are swimming with tears. He’d spent the past five years pretending his heart wasn’t as fragile as it was. Night after night, he’d confront himself for all his flaws, weaknesses, and mistakes, and demand he do better. When Sun had first caught his eye, he’d chided himself and begged for it to stop. Lying to himself, that he wanted a simple and easy life. As if he hadn’t ran from that very thing the second he could. He’d grown weary to it, trapped in the hands of whatever fate was pulling his strings. The scars on his heart marked the vices of his soul that he could never hope to conquer.

Get a pretty wife, raise some decent kids, get a job at your father’s company.

It hung over his head like a death sentence, and he wore it like a noose. His family, all things considered, had reacted considerably well to his declaration of wanting to become a Huntsman. The other two things remained to be seen, yet Sun of all people? They’d skin him alive, all because they couldn’t see all the beauty in him that Neptune could, the light of a thousand stars reflected in his eyes.

“Nep?” Scarlet asked from the door. Behind him, Sage offered a sheepish wave. Scarlet walked into their room, twirling three letters between his slim fingers. Neptune looked up, silently thanking whatever was watching over him; there were no tears streaming down his face this time. His pride would be spared yet another blow. “We’ve got some letters.”

“We?” Neptune asked, confusion replacing any melancholy, filling the void in his heart. “Weird.” Most of SSSN’s letters were for Neptune from his family, or from Haven Academy - yet these envelopes were too basic and unremarkable to be from either.

“We’ll be downstairs if you need us.” Sage told him from the door. Neptune nodded and mumbled a thanks, resolving to spend time with his team later. How much longer could he spend moping? He was grateful for the space but couldn’t help wondering if they resented his penchant for shutting the world out when it all became too much. It wasn’t his fault that every little thing reminded him of Sun.

But it was hard, living with a forlorn heart. It was tough to have a heart so fragile. To be so eternally infatuated with the light of others, drawn to it against all odds. And when those whose hearts are graced with restraint, whose hearts don’t need to be locked up for their own good - when those not so idealistic about romance agree with those perpetually lovesick fools, what chance do any of them have? Neptune had thought he’d fallen in love before yet nobody had ever agreed. Sun had been the first, and the rush he’d felt had dwarfed everything from his past - like seeing colour for the first time, when before you’d lived in shades of grey.

Glancing down at the letter, he made to throw it to the side and open it later, in a better state of mind. It was only when he saw the way the N of his name curved and the glint of the gold lettering that he realized the treasure he held. _Sun._

With reckless abandon he tore the envelope to shreds. A sheet of paper fell out.

_‘ Neptune,_

_Hope my favourite nerd’s doing alright. I’ve been in Menagerie these past couple weeks - talk about paradise! We should really visit this place together sometime. Think it’d be even better if you were here with me. I’m sorry we haven’t had a chance to talk much. I even had to send you guys all letters ‘cause the tower’s down!_

_Blake wanted to come here. Said some stuff about how she wanted to be with her family. Made me think about how much I miss my team. I know I’ve not been the leader I promised to be, but I know you’ll understand. She needed help, Nep._

_Something’s going down soon in Mistral. I can tell you all about it when I’m there. We’re leaving as soon as we can, but I’ll be honest, Nep - I don’t know when that’ll be. But I’ll come find you the first chance I get. That’s a promise._

_And for whatever it’s worth, I’m sorry I left so soon._

_Miss you everyday,_

_Sun. ’_

He wasn’t sure which word it was that started the rainfall from his eyes. He almost ruined the paper, but his hands caught the remainder of his tears, sparkling like stardust in his hands. Like the colours of dawn spilling onto the pitch-black backdrop of the night sky, warmth burst into his heart and a smile onto his face. Sun may be lost, but soon they would both be found, in the arms of each other.

It was that careful golden promise that lifted his spirits and lifted him to his feet. And that night, as he slept, he felt a little less alone than every night before.


	2. bad decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world may be slowly burning around them but at least they have each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi1KhAaMHIM

Though his muscles ached, Sun kept moving towards the dorms of Haven Academy. They were a fair walk away from the main building of the school, both a blessing and a curse. There had been no time to gather the students there for reinforcements during the battle of Haven, but at least they were kept out of harms way. His team was safe. That was what mattered. Even though his body was battered and bruised and every step of his shaking legs felt like they carried the weight of the world, it was all a small price to pay for the safety of his friends.

Nobody could deny Sun his restless heart overflowing with kindness. He’d travel the whole world to feel the wind in his hair, and he’d do it all over again if he were following a friend. There was nothing worse than being alone; Sun had decided that a long time ago. It had drove him to be a huntsman. That resolve and desire to be a friend for all those who may need it, a protector of those who couldn’t protect themselves, and a light to guide anyone lost. What better to be than a huntsman to get your kicks and do some good in the world? But helping others until they no longer needed him often left him alone. Sun could get so caught up in what others needed from him, he let the bumps on his skin turn to bruises - and then, to scars.

Now with nowhere else to run from it, he had to face the music; he hadn’t been the best leader for his team. Even if he didn’t regret his decision to help Blake, the reality ate at him when the world went silent. He hadn’t been the best boyfriend for Neptune, either. His thumb flickered over his icon on his Scroll. It was a picture of the two of them, taken on one night that wouldn’t have been special if he hadn’t spent it with Neptune. They were bundled up together on Sun’s bed, Neptune too tired to keep his eyes open with his head resting on Sun’s chest. Did he deserve this after leaving him so soon?

It was the thought of seeing Blake and Yang reunite earlier that same night which kept his feet moving. Though it weighed heavy on his heart, he put his fears to bed, and opened his heart to love. He tapped out a message to Neptune; ‘ I’m outside. ' It was two in the morning. Sun wondered if he’d have to call. But Neptune read it as soon as he sent it, only twisting the knife of guilt in his stomach. Out of the corner of his eye, he swore he saw movement, and a second later a light flicked on upstairs. The seconds dragging on had his heart threatening to spill out of his throat. He heard a buzz from the door in front of him, before it swung open, and his love stood in front of him.

In an instant, every memory played in his head, one after the other, the feelings rushing back into chest; they’d never truly left. Sun had spent every night dreaming of him, wishing he was holding him, regretting the way things just had to be. But all of that faded into white noise now. They chose to forgive, not fight. They had made their way home to each other’s hearts. And Sun thought that Neptune had only gotten more beautiful in their time apart; his eyes swimming with emotion that was shaking his entire body like leaves in the wind. His blue hair had lost none of its lustre, and his lips still beckoned him closer.

“Neptune-” Sun began, voice cracking before he even got the words he wanted to say out. When he opened his mouth to speak again, he was cut off by the warm press of soft lips against his own, the feeling of warm fingers against the cool skin of his face as Neptune held him in his hands, framing him like a picture, a moment in time. He stood still, defenseless and stunned. It was when the other man began to pull away from him that his mind started working again, yet it only had one thought: Neptune, Neptune, Neptune. So as always, the headstrong Sun chased his heart’s desire. One hand curved against the small of his back, pulling him in closer, uncaring of the cold biting air of night that surrounded them. The other lost itself in blue hair, gently stroking and coaxing him closer while they kissed. Even his tail couldn’t help but curve around them protectively. They stayed like that for as long as they dared, neither willing to be the first to break until breath bid them apart.

“You’re back,” Neptune croaked, his voice dry as if he’d cried all his tears away.

“Here to stay,” Sun assured, pushing back into a hungry kiss; they’d been apart for so long words would just have to wait. Neptune took a step or two back, and Sun stayed in time, his tail pushing the door shut behind them. Neptune pulled away, grabbing him by the hand and leading him up stairs, thumb running over his calloused skin. They reached Neptune’s room, and Sun raised an eyebrow at only two beds. Neptune jutted his head to the side, and Sun’s lip curled into a smirk. They were no stranger to being quiet, at least. But even as Neptune looked at him with reckless abandon, when Sun took off his shirt, his eyes drifted to the patchwork of fresh bruises his Aura was yet to heal, and most noticeable of all was the scar finally beginning to fade on his left shoulder. It was easy to miss if you didn’t know it was there, Sun thought; but Neptune’s hands had roamed his body too many times to miss a detail like that.

“It’s a long story,” Sun sighed, his eyes going tender. He didn't need to be told; he could see concern for him moving in Neptune's eyes. Neptune took Sun gently in his hands and laid them both in his bed, fingers threading through his golden locks.

“We’ve got time,” he cooed.

So Sun told him everything. He had thought it would be hard. But the words spilled from him if he wasn't careful of how he held them while Neptune watched him fondly, letting him speak, a reassuring grip on his arm never fading as they laid underneath the covers, held delicately in the cool glow of starlight. He told him of the boat journey, of how stupid he’d been and how wrong he’d been. Of how scared Blake had looked, running from shadows into night. He told him of the paradise of Menagerie, of how joyful it had truly seemed, until the White Fang reared their ugly head again. Of how many times he'd leapt from the jaws of death and hit the ground running. Last but not least, he told him of the attack on Haven they had narrowly prevented, and Neptune’s eyes went wide, grip tightening. It was always different when it was closer to home.

“I’m sorry I left.” Sun finished.

“It's alright. Sounds like they really needed you, huh?” Neptune chuckled, merely glad to have Sun’s light back in his life. Things had been getting almost suffocatingly dark.

“Still.” Sun's stubbornness hadn't ebbed a bit for all the time he was away. 

“Don’t beat yourself up about it. You know I’ll wait for you.”

Sun snorted. “Next time, you’re coming with.” He meant it sincerely. "I’ve had enough nights without you.”

“Gladly," replied Neptune, and the thought of it would keep him smiling for weeks.

“How have things been here?” Sun asked, head perking up off of Neptune’s chest to look at him. His eyes always sparkled whenever he spoke. It was one of his favourite things about him.

“Boring. Dad’s still mailing me all the time. Classes haven’t started back up again since the fall of Beacon; everyone’s been too shaken up about it to do anything. And, well, after tonight..." His voice trailed to a halt, and they both decided it was better left unsaid.

“We could go to Vacuo."

“Yeah?” Neptune mused; it was the only kingdom he hadn’t been to yet. Ever since he met Sun, he’d held off on going - he had to go with Sun, he'd told himself.

“Not like we’ll have much choice,” Sun said, a hint of bitterness creeping into his voice at the string of bad events throughout the world. It wasn't like him to voice his worry, but Neptune knew it was always there, just hidden well and out of sight. He'd seen it himself, how active that mind was. The physical world was a distraction, a relief from Sun's thoughts.

“Let’s worry about that tomorrow.” Neptune brought his finger to Sun’s chin, tilting his head up and giving him another quick peck on the lips. It was all Sun needed. He pushed himself up off the bed, pressed up against Neptune, bringing him in for a deeper kiss.

“You sure about this?” Sun asked, breathless between kisses. Neptune nodded and pulled him closer, muttering a yes under his breath. Their hands reacquainted themselves with each other’s bodies; and when the light hit them just right, all their broken pieces shined together like a mosaic. Sun had spent all his life chasing a golden light; a promise of happiness that, like a butterfly, escaped from his hands as he chased it. But he finally found it in the arms of Neptune as he watched him reverently, with the promise that anywhere he went, he would have Neptune. Anywhere he went, he would have happiness.

“I love you,” Sun said. It was a promise that would never break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow me on twitter so i can scream about sun, neptune, and seamonkeys some more
> 
> https://twitter.com/dahkanii
> 
> ngl i don't like this chapter much but chapter 3 should be fun and im too tired to care hehe, thanks for reading! hope u enjoyed

**Author's Note:**

> Stay tuned for Chapter 2, the heartfelt reunion we deserve, and then whatever happens after that! Sorry it's so short but, I just write what comes to me.


End file.
